Every career has some type of persona associated with it. You may have heard that stereotyping is wrong, but I say, this is how the world works!

Knowing the type of personality or behavior expected of you, can only help you grow or succeed in your career. However, not fitting the expected stereotype can hurt your career. If you must behave differently from the norm, be advised of the consequences.

In this post, I will advice you on how to mold your personality so it fits the requirements for your job!

Stereotyping Software Developers

Think about this statement for a moment; software developers are introverts!

Yes, this is stereotyping software developers. But you do expect software developers to be more interested in fiddling with the bolts and nuts of a software program than in talking to the hire-ups, right?

Given a choice between attending a management meeting and diving deep into technology, you will typically expect a software developer to choose the later, right?

Stereotyping Project Managers

Project Managers are expected to have a take charge, authoritative, commanding, no nonsense persona.

That is why you would expect a Project Manager to come into a chaotic situation and take charge with little or no external help, right?

Project Managers who spend most of their time managing time, budgets and people will probably have a different mindset from software developers, for example, who spend most of their time working on technology, right?

So, you see. Stereotyping is not all that bad … it is part of how we function, think or evaluated situations as human beings!

Because of stereotyping, you won’t expect an introverted project managers to succeed, because they have to interface with executive management, deal with people problems and deal conflict head-on!

So, as a rule, the personality of a project manager will not be the same as that of a software developer, right?

Why Stereotyping Is Good For Your Career

We use stereotyping for hiring or figuring out fairly easily and quickly, who will be successful at a post and who will not.

Not realizing this, some think that if they just get that next masters degree or MBA or ace that certification, they will be hired or promoted.

What if, their personality does not match the profile required for the job, will they succeed just because they have a college or masters degree?

Personas are the reasons why software testers think in terms of how to break things or prove that working solutions are flawed.

It is why data analysts are expected to be “number crunchers” with a knack for making inferences, conclusions or projections from data.

Personas are also why business analysts are expected to have good to solid communication skills.

So, here are few questions for you:

What is the type of personality required for your career?

Does your personality match your career?

What are you doing to match your personality to your job profile?

The good news is that your persona can be modified over time to fit your career. Even if your culture or natural inclinations differ from the persona required for a job, you can still match your personality over a period of time.

For example, when it comes to business analysis, one of the expected personality traits is the ability to communicate well either in written or verbal form.

As an example of how to match your personality to your career, discover how you can improve your communication skills to match the requirements for business analyst jobs.

Stereotyping Business Analysts

Good communication skills, both verbal and written, are important in any career, especially those of business analysts.

Why? Because Business Analysts spend a good deal of time communication ideas, concepts or solutions in written or verbal form.

One cause of poor communication skills is not having the confidence to express thoughts verbally, in front of others. Another source is a poor speaking habit which causes one’s speech to sound condescending or aggressive manner causing others to disengage or stop listening to you.

The ability to communicate thoughts clearly in writing is another valuable, key skill for business analysts.

Effective writing skills includes a strong knowledge of grammar, spelling and punctuation skills as well as the ability to write conversationally as opposed to stiff, formal, boring english.

As a business analyst, developing effective verbal and written communications will position you for job interviews, promotions or career success.

Verbal communication includes making presentations, speaking at meetings, speaking in front of groups or even in front of a large audience.

The thought of speaking in front of a group will make most people nervous or fearful. As matter of fact, public speaking is one of the greatest fears know to people … did you know that?

However, even the shyest person can improve his or her communication skills by following a systematic, well thought out training / personal development plan.

Keep in mind that even if your communication style is brash, boring, tense, combative, timid or generally unattractive, you can still improve it, if you take corrective action.

If you lack effective communication skills, make it your goal to improve that part of your personality this year, OK?.

How To Improve Verbal Communication Skills

If you are ready to take action towards developing good or effective verbal communication skills, I recommend that you start by joining Toastmasters.

Toastmasters is a premier non-profit communication and leadership organization that has helped a lot of people become public speakers since their start in 1924.

Toastmasters is also the easiest or least expensive way of developing good verbal (presentation, public speaking, etc.) communication skills.

The cost for a Toastmasters Membership is just $27 every six months … what could be cheaper than that?

Not only is Toastmasters relatively inexpensive to join, it also does not place a high demand or drain on your time. Imagine developing your keeping skills at the cost of just 1 to 2 hours of your time per week!

A Toastmaster club consists of about 20-40 members who meet for 60 – 90 minutes at a local library or some other venue on a weekly, bi-weekly or monthly schedule.

After you join a club, you will receive a 10-speech manual called the Competent Communication Manual. This manual comprises of assignments that are designed to build your speaking skills in succession from a beginner to competent pro to advanced level.

At Toastmasters meetings, you will also receive coaching, encouragement and positive, constructive feedback on how to improve your speaking skills.

During Toastmasters meetings, you will be given speaking assignments or evaluations that will gradually develop you into a confident public speaker.

Toastmasters is an organization that is easy to find. So, you can find a club within a reasonable driving distance from your home or place of work.

How To Improve Written Communication Skills

You can improve your written communication skills by blogging! Guess what? Blogging is a relatively inexpensive and fun way of communication.

To get started, purchase a domain name which is at a minimal cost per year (less than $20). Then host your blog using WordPress which is currently the most popular blogging platform. Others blogging platforms are BlogSpot and TypePad.

Note that the moment you begin to blog, you become a part of an informal, highly effective group of writers or communicators, also referred to as bloggers.

You will want to branch out and get your blog seen by other bloggers in your industry using word of mouth or social media networking. As you comment on your topics of interest, your writing skills will improve.

There is no better learning activity than jumping right in or getting your hands dirty!

Follow this advice to match your communication skills which is part of your personality to your job or career.